Starlight Memories
by DazzlingMer
Summary: Among the twinkling of stars, few dare to shine brilliantly. Among the few that sing, those that stand glow radiantly. Galaxies and Novae are born.
1. Youthful Hope

**Location: Inaistar**

Each and every single person that seemed to be living in the out in the greens today. The benches that usually were not occupied we're filled to the

horizon, little kids running around with balloons and several vendors were hawking different sorts of memorabilia.

Walking among the crowds, a dark haired family whose green locks didn't seem to really stick out in the vibrant atmosphere.

Three girls ran out ahead, short green pigtails, black short curls and deep blue hair in a low tie bouncing as they chased each other around.

Coming upon the wide open and quite expansive amphitheater, the three girls gave out gasps of awe to the jovial setting.

Minami Yuan, her black hair lit up with the multiple glowing ties around her neck, reached out to Leisa Braques and Chie Koi, both of their eyes eagerly

shining with hearts.

The clouds shone with an array of lights, as a great bird-like ship descended through them.

"It's starting!"

"Everyone! Thank you for waiting!"

* * *

Chie rushed down the long hallway, the stack of papers in her grip fluttering around, some pieces looking like they were going to come out and flutter

away. Many people lined the corridors, all dressed in the same style uniforms, long white tied blazers on girls and a similar style on the boys.

It was the one day that she needed to get to her cubby as soon as possible, and that one day just happened to be the day that new hopeful

students were due to tour the school in the evening and all activities and areas needed to be shapely.

Being the student council president's secretary had it's perks, knowing things that were going to happen before the general student populace knew

about it, and the likes.

However, making sure ALL activities and clubs were accounted for was not her definition of a perk.

"Chie-san! Congrats on your dad's win!"

"So you get to live in the mansion now?"

"Can the tennis club come over!?"

She gave shorts replies back, and just as hurriedly continued on.

Coming upon the foyer of the school, quite a few students were huddled around the screens displaying the news.

"Revolution In Entertainment To Be Questioned"

"Candidate Koi Wins Inaistar Race"

"What does this mean for music?

She could only give sideways glance, but already just the sight of the pictures on the screen turned her stomach.

How could her own father be so unaware and in denial of his own daughter's obsession, no, love?

It was like her own dream was being crushed, and her was her father winning what had been his ultimate prize, the presidency of this planet. She

felt anger, regret but mostly a sinking feeling in her stomach that caused her nose and eyes to tingle, drops pricking at the sides of her eyes.

She hurried even faster out the door, bypassing chattering crowds, most which tried in some form to beckon her over or give gestures that she

should join their conversations.

Ducking out the front gate, she held her head down as she approached the shaded black car and reached for the handle. She gratefully retreated to

the back seat and was mildlly thankful that her father was obsessive about privacy. The tinted window between the wheel and the passenger area

allowed her to peacefully sit.

Her body trembled, her hands gripping the bag on her shoulder.

Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, as the new daughter of the President of Inaistar should act, she swung it off and opened it, carefully

distracting herself as she organized out the papers and brought them back into order again.

* * *

Cruising up a steep hill, she could see her new home. A wide terrace was filled with plants and trees, all of which surely required quite a few people

to take care of and groom.

Her gaze being absorbed by the new sight, she was startled out of her stupor when the prism-like crystal around her neck gave off a ping.

Pulling on it by the string, the screen lit up in the air. A letter shaped icon bounced in the corner, the whimsical designs around it moving frantically.

Her own device had been set around her preferences, so it reacted more when things of interest were mailed to her.

Clicking a small button almost hidden near the loop for the string, a sparkling logo appeared in the sphere. Her eyes widened when she recognized

where it was from.

"Everyone! Nice to see you!"

The name jumped to mind. The girl wore her pale yellow hair in a thin tail down the back of her head, almost reaching her waist, curled distinctively.

Takahashi Minami the 6th.

"AKB0048 will be holding auditions for our 68th generation. Our goal is bring songs to people even under the entertainment ban. We sing with our

love, friendship, courage. We are the idols who come to see you!

"We'll be waiting to hear from you!"

The rest of the group appeared. They wore the standard uniform, a white blouse with slight cap sleeves. Blue lace and ties were finished off with a

deep red bow and various similar skirt styles and assorted shoes. Of course, every single one was unique.

"See you!"

"If you live on a planet outside of of the Protection Sphere, send us your application with encryption!"

The logo continued to hover, however, Chie no longer seemed to be focusing on that.

Her eyes focused on nothing.

Her dream was waiting to be made real, and she wasn't going to let another person's whims dictate it.


	2. Chance to Be

**Location: Inaistar Space Terminal**

Walking through the glittering halls, people fluttered over Chie Koi. Any time a strand of hair drifted out of place, there was a hand that brought it

back to order.

In the mere weeks since her father had been elected, Chie had turned into some sort of icon around Inaistar. Not that she enjoyed it. Every time she

tried to step out of their new home, people hawked over her. She had no moment to herself, much less to finish the application for the auditions.

Today, she knew, would be the day that those who had been selected would be using their given tickets to travel to the selection round.

It was ironic that she had wanted to apply and would possibly be here anyways had she passed.

Coming to the main hall, a man stood off to the side of a podium. He turned around when he heard the steps coming up behind him, a charming smile

lighting his face.

"Right on time! The entire family needs to be here!" He set his hands on her shoulders.

Family? There was only two of them, and they clashed so much that she rarely felt the need to spend her time around him, not that there was any

time available to do so, especially now with a presidency to handle.

She pushed the thoughts to the side for the meantime, and gave a half-hearted smile in return.

"Yeah."

They walked up to the platform, and as soon as they were even visible, flashes of light filled her vision.

She squinted her eyes. There seemed to be over a hundred people filling the area. As she moved her eyes across the expanse, she noticed that the

screen was showing the departures of the various ships at the station.

Akibastar

It was there. Her dream. She clasped her hands in front of herself, feeling her heart sinking slowly. A timid demeanor took over, her head slightly

bowed, fingers nervously intertwining and unlacing, over and over.

Her father's words took over the sounds. The sounds of flashed and the loud chatter quieting down to almost non-existence.

The time floated through her head. The ship would be leaving any minute now.

Glancing up once more, she looked at the sign again, as her eyes drifted back down, she noted two people walking with suitcases and bags over

their shoulders. They were girls her age.

She knew them.

The black curls and smirking curl of a smile that belonged to Minami.

The two short pigtails of Leisa.

Had they applied? If they were here, had they been accepted?

Together, they had shared their love of AKB0048 when they were young, singing along to music videos and concerts. It had all come to a height when

Minami's family had decided to see the concert that was being held at the Inaistar gardens.

As she continued to follow them with her eyes, her father promptly finished his speech and walked towards her, she joined him as he walked off the

stage. As soon as she was off the stairs, she froze.

An idea floated through her head. She could go now. She could go to the auditions.

"Chie?" Her father turned around, a questioning look on his face.

"I want to join them."

"What? What on earth are you talking about? The media?!" He gave off a chuckle.

"I want to join 0048!" She cried, making his face turn to one of shock. Just as soon as a reply came to his throat, she began to move out of the side

room, speeding up to a run as she burst out the door and ran in the direction of the gate.

She thought she heard steps following her, but she didn't care. She wanted to go to the selection round. She had to.

Barely making it onto the ship, thanks in part for the desk person not noticing as she slipped by the other people boarding.

Running through the halls towards the lounge area, she finally made out the two people she was chasing after.

"Minami! Leisa!"

"Chie?!" Both turned around, giving her astonished and skeptical looks. She ran up and gave them a tackling hug, almost knocking them into the

railing where they had been watching the stars outside of the ship.

Her friends began sniffling, returning the hug.

"I missed you so much, you idiot!"

"I can't believe you're here!"

She closed her eyes, remembering the memories of their youth, and thinking ahead for what was in store for the three of them. As she reflected, a

line came to mind that her father had said during his speech that she had missed by seeing the two.

"Inaistar will be joining the DGTO starting from this point onwards."

* * *

Hello hello!

Since someone has made the story for Yuihan the 9th(?) as Center Nova, I figured I would like to do something farther back then the Novae mentioned in the show.

Thanks for the read!


	3. Practicing Silence

Location: Support Ship Khandra

Having arrived at the designated layover to Akibastar, the trio had learned that the first selection round would be taking place on board one of 0048's own ships. Minami explained that it was to be expected, since the majority of auditions had also done the same in the past.

With all of the auditionees now corralled and shuffled into one of the training rooms, they waited anxiously for one of the managers or members to appear to begin. Several had taken up spots on along the walls or railings, others sat on the floor and formed small groups that produced a small hum of nervous chatter.

"Chie Koi-chan, I can assume?" A voice broke Chie out from her daze, as she turned around to see a short girl with deep teal hair that reached to the middle of her back and curled outwards in two parts.

"Umm, yes? And you are?" She put her hand out to return the awkward greeting.

"Keke Maki. I was curious when I thought I had seen you, after all, Inaistar is now under the DGTO."

"Eeeh?!" Leisa and Minami stood up as well, shocked at the news.

"Uh, yeah. It's not officially announced, but when I was just leaving my father revealed it."

"It's not common knowlege, I assume, but I saw it on one of the AKB message boards. It's what a true fan would notice."

Keke turned on her heel, gave a wave and a wink over her shoulder, and disappeared into the group once again.

"Bye bye!"

Turning back to each other, a quiet fell over the three, reflecting at the new information.

"I wonder what your dad thinks about this then?" Leisa gave Chie a thoughtful look, which she returned with a noncommittal shrug.

"All right, all right, we hope you are all settled in now!" A girl with a yellow ponytail clapped her hands to get the rooms attention. Takamina the 4th was flanked by a woman in a deep green dress suit and a man in a royal blue suit and tie.

"As I'm sure you know, you can call me Takamina. These two are Mrs. Atama and Producer Shaune."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all! We wish you luck in your auditioning adventure!" Atama gave a wave and a sincere smile. She lightly pushed up on her black rimless glasses and tucked a strand of black hair back.

"Please check to make sure all of your belonging are in check this evening. But first, we are going to start you right into lessons."

This was met with groans and a few excited whispers. It was apparent that a few people had not been expecting for their to be work along the way.

As the group made it's way to the exit they were being led to, people nervously skirted around Takamina. She gave a smile to those who tried to make eye contact with her. Taking up the rear, she ended up right next to the trio.

"How was your trip? No bumps I hope?" She clasped her hands behind her back and stretched them.

"Uumm... Yeah." Chie looked down, embarrassed to be next to someone so prominent.

"Hehe, no need to be so shy. We all start out at the same level!"

"Y..yeah! It's nice to meet you!" Both gave off a burst of giggles, the wall of awkwardness broken. Several girls up ahead turned their heads. Neither noticed a few give a jealous look.

The girls were numbered off to work in smaller groups, and Chie found herself alone. Fortunately, she ended up with Keke, while the benefit of her being there was still a mystery to Chie. Changing into the new exercise clothing they had been provided, a few girls proceeded to start stretching out on the floor. Within a few moments of them returning from the lockers, the door opened and a few girls in different colored jackets came in, conversing with themselves. A woman with deep maroon hair followed behind. She appeared to be their instructor, as she was dressed in a light shirt and pants.

"All right. The understudies from the 67th are going to be joining us as well today. After some brief workouts, we'll split up and you auditionees will begin training."

"Training? Isn't this training?" A girl spoke up from the front. A few of the 67th exchanged glances, but otherwise said nothing.

"Aah, we are introducing some dances to you, then you will start combat training, if I can put it that way."

"_Combat training? What? _Why would we need that?"

The woman gave a sigh, and leaned against the railing surrounding the floor. "0048's concerts aren't all about the performance, you know I'm sure. We must also work to protect our fans as well."

With that, she led them through a few routines, many of the auditionees giving a few complaints about never having to have to work this hard ever.

As the day continued, Chie couldn't help but notice a slight dip in the number. She turned towards Keke, who was walking next to her in the hall with a towel around her neck.

"Is it just me, or is it less crowded all of a sudden?"

Grabbing the ends of the towel and stretched her arms, she closed her eyes to contemplate for a moment. "I would say people have dropped already." She walked on ahead, not looking to continue the conversation.

Pausing a moment, Chie stood in shock. That quickly? People had given up so soon?

* * *

The next week was filled with lessons and simulations, and the amount of girls slowly trickled down. However, those that were seeming to be truly commited were slowly settling into a routine.

They woke every morning, had breakfast then were off to lessons for the majority of the day. It wasn't uncommon that a few people fell asleep at dinner, making a few of the members and understudies chuckle at their reminiscence.

* * *

Toweling off her damp hair, Chie slowly went down the hall from the lockers to the zero g sleep area. She hummed a few tunes and tried a few spins, her tiredness making her daze off.

"What do you mean?! We... We were supposed to have priority! What happened?!" A voice came out from another intersecting hall. Not wanting to disturb them, Chie paused against the wall.

"I would never be one to place my bets early, but I would suspect someone in the management group thinks this new group of auditionees is special, which I don't get. They seem like every other generation here." She recognized the voices from their first session, pinning the voices as belonging to someone in the 67th generation.

Taking a deep breath, Chie slowly walked out from the hallway, doing her best to look like she hadn't been overhearing their conversation.

"Goodnight you guys. See you in the morning!" She gave a small wave an continued on, their conversation lingering in her mind/

"Sure..."

* * *

Yay it's done! I'm slowly expanding the word count each chapter, so I'll do my best to update quickly.

For some explanations...

The name of the battle ship in 0048 is the Katyusha, and seeing as it is a re-use, I'm sure they have gone through several battle ships. So booooomm... The Khandra is born! Katyusha is a German song, so I stayed in that realm. Khandra is along the lines of _"this is one of those difficult-to-pin-down words that tries to express something in the human soul that we know is there, but can't easily put into words." _ala Russipedia.

I also realize I messed up Takamina's succession number as well. I could have sword she was the 6th in the show, but alas the sousenkyo episodes have revealed that she is the 5th. Ooopppsss...

Thanks for the reviews and reads!


	4. Battle of The Lights

Thanks for the reads! reviews and faves are much appreciated!

* * *

This was it, the final day of training. They still had no idea what the actual audition would be. For all they knew, this much work may have counted as the audition itself.

They were all seated in the commons area, where food was typically served and a typical hang out area for the auditionees. Nervous chatter floated around, many had their shoulders hunched and looked nervously around at the remaining girls. Counting the trio and Keke, there were only a total of twelve girls still left.

"All right, all right! I'm sure you know that today is the last day of the audition!" Atama walked into the room, a datapad in the crook of one arm and a few of the floating things the members called "Kirara" followed along as well.

"This time, we are going to shake things up a bit. Instead of the typical combat round, your final task is to hold the next concert. The members are aware of this and are ready to step in should things go awry. You will be joined by Takamina the 4th, Tomomi the 7th, Aminyan the 9th, and Mayuyu the 2nd."

At the pause, a steady stream of chatter broke out. They would be performing on stage?! With the members who had years on them? In front of an actual audience?

The four mentioned came in, eager look on their faces. Takamina gave a wave to Chie, who sheepishly returned the gesture, not wanting to be called out.

"Let's give our best!"

"The setlist will be as follows. First, Witness, followed by 100m Convenience. Tellin' Myself Maybe and Flying Get will round out the show. You will spend the rest of the day until departure practicing with these four. Best of luck!" With that, she proceeded to walk out of the area, letting the chaos of chatter resume.

"Let's not waste time ~mayuyu!" Mayu clapped her hands, her long blue ponytails bouncing as she lead the way out the door to the main training room.

* * *

By the end of the afternoon, all but Leisa had collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. Even the four members were sitting down and thirstily gulping down water from their bottles.

"I'll think we'll do fine. Are you girls ready?" Amina threw a hand up in the air with a smile and walked out the door, still ranting about. Once it closed behind her, Takamina took a sigh and rubbed her forehead.

"Dang she can be happy-go-lucky! Why is she always like this?"

The door opened once again, and a depressed looking Amina arrived once more with a rack of plastic-seathed outfits hung on a rack being pushed in front of her.

"AmiAmi, what's the matter?" A tall girl in the back with straight grey hair came forward, giving a curious look at the hanging clothes.

"I guess we over practiced. The Flying Get leaves for the atmosphere in an hour. Tsubasa-sama wants us to be ready before hand..."

_Before hand?_ Did that mean there was a risk of DES attacking? But they weren't even successors yet, much less understudies.

"T..This can't be happening..." A girl along the edge of the practice floor collapsed into a heap. Others ran over to help her.

"Quick! Get her to the medical area!"

As they rushed out the door, Chie gulped and gripped her waist. This was happening. This was all real. Had she been so naive to not expect this when she ran away from Inaistar?

Keke walked up to the clothing rack after a few moments of tense silence. Mayu joined her as well, her long blue hair swishing as she searched the tags for her name.

"This is weird. I've never seen the uniforms this color before!" She pulled out her respective uniform, and indeed it caught the eyes of the others. The bottom skirt layer was black and white, while the top portion was a plaid teal-blue color. Upon closer inspection, all the uniforms had the monotone skirts, but the color of every top was different. Keke gave a sigh as she found her bag, revealing her color to be a light mint.

"Aaa... so pretty..." Keke lapsed into a moment of awe, making a few of the girls giggle who weren't used to seeing her soft side.

As the others around slowly began to pull out their clothes, Aminyan and Takamina came back into the room along with a yellow and lime hair color.

"Ooo.. didn't another go with you?" Tomomi asked as she set down her yellow-orange uniform.

Takamina sighed, ruffling her bangs as she stepped towards the rack. "Both girls have dropped from the audition. With the one having too much anxiety, the other girl began to freak out as well.

"That brings us down to 10 auditionees, 14 performers if you count us. We'll have to go over the alternate staging on the way down." Tomomi rubbed her chin, looking for a moment towards the floor and taking in a deep breath.

"Well, there is no time to waste! Let's get ready for this performance with out best foot forwards!" Takamina thrust a fist in the air, the group joining in with a cheer along with her.

* * *

As the Flying Get descended through the atmosphere towards the performance area, the group scrambled to get into position so that the concert could start as soon as possible. With the successors taking the secondary positions, Chie found herself in Center position for the second and fourth songs, and Keke in the lead for the other two songs. Minami and Leisa were scattered around otherwise, with no regards to rank or skill, though Keke and Chie definitely had the most skill and had been given the the lead roles accordingly.

"Ready?! 30 seconds till show time!"

Getting into starting position, Chie could feel the slight pull of the ships anti-gravity kick in, as the stage unfolded and the girl were given their first glimpse of the audience and lights.

The venue turned out to be an old stadium, and every part of the arena was packed. As they began to sing the first lines of their song and dance along, the crowd roared, startling a few of the girls.

Luce, one of the other auditionees, tripped a few measures in, drawing a cries from the audience.

As the music swelled, Keke gave a glance back to make sure she was alright, and gave a meaninful look to Chie and the others. It was obvious that they were doing a poor job, though the audience didn't seem to mind.

_I want to return those feelings. I want to be the best!_ Keke threw herself into the song, and the others a few seconds behind her began to sing and dance with more energy. A colored glow seemed to glow around the stage, and the girls themselves had auras around them. Oddly enough, they matched the color of their respective uniforms.

As the first two songs passed, Chie felt exhaustion set in. She wasn't used to being this active, and she had never sung or danced at the same time for this length. The understudies and other members seemed to be trying to do their best to ward of the DES machines, though they seemed to be hurting as well.

Time seemed to slow, as she saw one the DES machines find a break in their defense, and aimed for the stage. The others seemed so focused on the performance that they didn't seem to notice the incoming attack.

"Get down!" She dived for Keke, who was in the center position, as the attack hit and the girls fell. The members quickly warded of the machine, renewing their defense and energy.

"You Okay?" She glanced down at Keke, who was beginning to sit up as well.

"Yeah, thanks for that."

Slowly the group stood once again, regaining their formation as the music slowly returned. They shakily finished off the song, almost collapsing as the music finished.

"Chie! Keke! Let's take this last song to the skies!" The glow returned around Aminyan, as the others took the cue and began to spread out in an a formation for the beginning of Flying Get.

_Gira gira youshanai taiyou ga_

_Tsuyobi de teritsukeru on the beach_

_Unubore ondo wa kyuujoushou_

_Ochitsukanai no wa manatsu no saga da ne_

The glow of Kirara slowly formed, and as Chie lead the song, she was surprised to see a yellow star-shaped Kirara slowly shift into being in front of her. It began to immediately shine, flying around and leaving a trail of light.

_Furaingu getto_

_Dakara dare yori hayaku_

_Kimi no haato no subete boku no mono_

_Suki dakara rabu furage!_

As the music ended and they made their way together for bows, a swell of laughter broke out amond the auditionees. They had done it. They had survived a Guerrilla Performance!

The Flying Get began to ascend into the sky as they flew back and landed on the stage, the ship reverting to its original form.

"Kirara Drive engaging!"

* * *

phewww... It's done! Review are much appreciated! Let me know what you think!

Here is a list of the 68th generation, along with their colors as well, for those of you curious what color the other uniforms were!

**Chie Koi - Yellow**

**Minami Yuan - Purple**

**Leisa Braques - Emerald Green**

**Keke Maki - Mint**

**Luce Hibiki - Magenta**

**Helena Sakura - Light Pink**

**Yuki Kiyoi - Grey**

**Kanko Seigansha - deep red**

**Aiku Seiyane - Orange**

**Alice Atsui - Light Blue**


	5. Okinastar Intervention

And hello again! Thank you for all of your view! They encourage me alot to get these done!

I realized going through previous chapters that there are some pretty moderate errors, grammar wise. They will be fixed soon! Thanks!

For those of you who are looking for links to the first two songs of the concert here they are:

youtube/watch?v=E4YJiqLOx0E (Witness)

youtube/watch?v=FMPRH7ffg88&list=LLLaZ7HN-KRgTDsj48cF2yEg (100m Convenience)

Here we go!

* * *

As the Flying Get made the short jump through space towards the Katyusha and Khandra, the girls were busy changing back into their space uniforms. Closing the door to her locker, Keke took a sign and fell onto the bench.

She remembered the first time she had seen an AKB concert. And now here she was singing and dancing in that same stage.

She closed her eyes, remembering that night.

* * *

Bright blue lights shone down on the street. Though her father seemed excited about where they were going, she didn't see a reason for such. The buildings around them were grey and worn down, several looked on the brink of collapse or already had. She felt out of place in her nice clothes.

As they continued on, they came up to a building surrounded with people. It had working lights, so it shone like a star amid the stark darkness of the streets.

Her father exchanged words with a few people, and disappeared into the crowd, glass of a red liquid in his hand that he had taken from a silver tray that a person in serving clothes carried.

Suddenly alone in the crowd, she felt herself shrinking. All the adults around her ignored her presence or didn't even notice her try to find her way around. Somehow sh e found her way into the building and after looking around several rooms, she found herself in a grand hall. Screens floated around, most focused on news pertaining to the Entertainment Ban or other political nonsense. Finding a rather shaded corner away from the bustle, she settled in and watched as the screens began to change images.

It showed a typical college, dorm buildings and class halls with a number of students milling around.

"All right everyone! Here is the main show for today! DES has received intel that there is entertainment being spread around this city on Okinastar!" A woman in a rather revealing outfit appeared on the front stage.

"Place your bets now! How will this recovery go? How many and who will be arrested?!"

"Not really interested, are you?"

Keke looked up, a rather tall girl in a long dress coat crouched down next to her.

"I'm not either. Guess we are similar, huh?" The girl looked at her, and gave a warm smile. She had light blue shining eyes, and light blue curls that hugged her shoulders.

"I..I guess so. I don't even know what's going on or where my father is."

As the two looked out to the crowd, a murmur spread around. The sky in the screens slowly glowed around the school, making several or the DES members and students in the chaos to look around in confusion.

"AKB..0048!" An energetic song began to sound. The people in the room around her frantically reached for the small computers around the area.

"OOOO! This is unexpected! 0048 has made an appearance! How long will they last?!"

The girl next to her gave a gruff laugh.

"Betting on the conflict on this same planet, huh?"

Keke looked up at the girl and saw her rise.

"Come on, want to see something special?" She held her hand out, and Keke nervously took it. She was dragged off to a low balcony. Insanely enough, the battle that had been appearing on the screens in the other room was taking place right around them. When she looked back, she realized the building looked like and old stadium-type complex, and that the surrounding college, though it looked nice from the streams, was surrounded by destruction.

Girls in red and black uniforms appeared close to where they were, and a few spread out to help out people who were trying to get away, but were being surrounded by DES soldiers.

_Taiyou ga_

_Kinou yori_

_Mabushiku teritsuke hajimetara_

_Masshiro na_

_TIISHATSU ni_

_Ima sugu kigaete_

_Kimi wo sasoitai_

Helping out the singers, several men in long overcoats appeared, and began to push back the soldiers.

The girl next to her unbuttoned her coat, and reached into one of the pockets. Underneath she wore a simliar red and black uniform to the girls flying around and singing. She produced a blue mic, and gave a smile back to Keke.

"Kojima Haruna the 6th, at your service!" A girl on a floating plate flew over, another empty plate following along. Kojiharu joined in the song as the girl pulled her up and she took her place on the extra plate.

_Everyday, Everyday, Everyday_

_KACHUUSHA GAARU_

Two floating Kirara appeared, and spun around as they glowed brightly. A great bird-like ship descended from the stage, and the performers slowly began to retreat, leaving a trail of light behind them. Several DES LAS appeared and tried to shoot down the ship, though all missed and the ship folded and disappeared into rings of colorful stars.

"AKB00...48."

* * *

Sitting up, Leisa rounded the corner, having returned from a shower.

"You sure get ready fast. It must be a record!"

"Ha... I guess I'm still going on adrenaline from that close call back there." The two continued to chat as Leisa pulled on her uniform, which had been placed in their lockers. Since they were official understudies now, they had been given better outfits then the jacket and pants they had been training in.

As they walked out of the locker area, they came upon Chie leaning against a wall not far from the door. The star Kirara that had formed at the concert still followed her around, occasionally bobbing her in her outstretched hands.

"Kirara... right?" She looked up, an embarrassed look on her face.

"It's not everyday that a new understudy gets a Kirara, much less in a selection round." Keke gave a small laugh, knowing that Chie had never really been exposed to 0048 at all, being the daughter of a high-ranking politician.

"I..I guess he really likes me. He follows me everywhere!" Folding her hands behind her back, the Kirara flew around the hall, even circling Leisa, who gave a laugh.

"Of course! He formed because of you!"

"Because of me? What did I do?"

"Kirara glow with the resonance of the soul," Takamina rounded the corner with Amina. "In other words, the greater the idol, the more they shine. They form when you shine especially bright."

"Oooo... Chie-chan is a new ace, huh?" Chie gave a yelp as she was tackled from behind. Kanko, one of the other new understudies gave her an expectant look.

"Aa..Ace?! I can't be one! I'm not even that good!" Shrugging the girl off, she gave an exasperated reply.

"Hmm... I wouldn't be so sure... you may end up being the last to succeed..." Minami appeared as well, looking like she was deep in thought.

"Hey now!" Chie chased her down the hall, the others laughing as they followed them to the commons.

Around the hall corner, a girl stood pressed against the wall.

"Ace, huh?" She gave a small smile, and disappeared back into the hallways.

* * *

DUNDUNDUN...

Some backstory for you all! I didn't plan on having Keke's family be supportive of the ban, but I figured it would give and interesting reason for her to join and tie into some future events... Bwahaha...

*cough* Anyways! Reviews and follows are much appreciated! I love to see what you all think of this! :)

Everyday, Katyusha:

youtube/watch?v=UPQoPxaUGlg

See you soon!


	6. Renewed Confidence

Hello all!

All edits on previous chapters have been made, though I made the mistake of removing chapter 1 without fixing Takamina's succession number... Ooppss...

Anyways... Hope you enjoy this installment!

* * *

Within a few hours, the Khandra and Katyusha returned to the port on Akibastar. A few of the other Successors were there to greet them, congratulating them on a job well done. The 67th generation, which had spent much of the ride back silent and cooped up in their own area, exchanged a few words and headed on towards the train.

"All right! We won't be able to give you a full tour tonight, so that will be the first thing we do tomorrow! Let's go catch the train so we can show you to your rooms. Your stuff should be there when we arrive."

As Mayuyu led the way through the halls, the new understudies were busy looking through the windows and other ports, the sky above the city a deep red sunset and the lights just beginning to shine.

The suspended train was a new experience to quite a few of them, shown by the number of girls pressed to the windows and whispering in awe.

"Look! There's the theater!" It was lit up in bright pink and colorful spotlights spun around into the sky.

"Aw, looks like the rest of the members are finishing their performance." Mayuyu walked up to the window to join them.

"Others?"

"Yup. Only the four of us came along. The other half of the 67th is there as well being stand-ins."

"Only... Wait! I thought Atama-san said that the other members would be there if we had trouble! Who was protecting our concert then?!"

"Ha, we couldn't put you guys in that much danger, so the planet's WOTA were piloting our LAS's"

"Oh you have got to be kidding me..."

* * *

"Up and at em'!" Chie and Aiku fell onto Leisa, who was still sleeping on a lower bunk in their room. She groggily shoved them off and rolled over, mumbling as she did so.

Chie, Leisa, Aiku and Keke had ended up in a room together. Minami ended up boarding with Yuki, Luce, Alice, Helena and Kanko, sharing a 3 bunk bed room at the corner of the wing.

"Last one downstairs has to get the laundry!" Both girls ran out the door, leaving a sleeping Leisa and still dressing Keke behind. Keke gave a sigh, a noticed that Chie's Kirara was still resting on her pillow, apparently sleeping. She chuckled and walked over to see if it would awake, and paused by the balcony window.

Two girls were arguing on the hill in front of the dormitory, with another looking helpless not far away. Pulling on her coat, she hopped down the stair and out the door, cautiously walking up to the third girl.

"Is everything all rig..."

"Who are you to ask!? You weren't one of the people who was denied the chance to perform for the first time!"

"Huh... perform?"

"Don't act dumb! The concert on Yorkstar was supposed to be held by us, the 67th! We were supposed to have priority!"

"L..Let's calm down, Ryu... they didn't get a say in this either..." The girl next to Keke tried to reach out to the other.

"No. I don't get it. Nothing was special about your group of auditionees! The only people who had skill were you and the blue girl! Even then..." She turned a cold shoulder to them. "Nevermind..." She stormed off, leaving Keke and the the 67th girls behind.

"I'm sorry." Keke nervously bowed her head, turned and walked onto the path to the riverside.

She remembered what one of her childhood friends had said after the concert on Okinastar, and she expressed her wish to be like the performers.

* * *

"You heard about the intervention, right? They took some people from the college! The next city over!"

"I heard that DES got pushed back!"

"Hey, didn't you say that your dad was taking you to that city yesterday? Did you see it?" The girls around her crowded her lunch seat, one bringing up their handheld computer and scrolling through a few images.

"I did."

The girls around her broke out in gasps and crowded closer, asking and begging her to tell them more.

"This light filled the sky, and then this bird-like ship flew down. They.. They danced and sung even though their lives were in danger, it was amazing!"

A few of the girls paused, a glance exchanged.

"AKB0048? Was it them?"

"This girl called herself Kojima Haruna the 6th was there." She thought back to the night before. The girl in blue hair was permanently ingrained in her mind. The way she danced, the way she spoke. It was all she had been able to think about since they had disappeared.

"It was them..."

"Did you get a signature from Mayuyu?! She's my favorite!"

"WAIT!" One of the girls, who was the leader-of-sorts silenced them. "Were they really there? Or are you just making this up?" She gave a suspicious look towards Keke.

"They were! They glowed and flew around! It was spectacular! I want to be like them one day!" She began to smile, imagining herself on that stage one day.

"Ha, as if you would make it."

"What?"

"Do you know how challenging and dangerous what they do is? How many people have auditioned, joined, failed, succeeded, and failed then? For every step you take, another person falls behind you. There's no way such an unspoken person like you would be able to make it, much less be accepted!"

* * *

Leaning against the rail, Keke sighed. She hurriedly combed her fingers through her hair, trying to push the thought from her mind. She could her the sounds of Chie and Aiku coming down the trail looking for her. Lessons had always begun right after breakfast for them, since they were new and got the least preferable lesson times.

"Keke! Lesson time!" The two came through the trees, Aiku already in her practice clothes. "You don't want to be late! Mrs. Sakana will get angry!"

She nodded and followed along, though the thoughts still lingered in her mind. As she pulled on her dance shoes after getting into her own clothes, their dance instructor walked in, a clipboard dangling from one hand.

"All right! No time to waste!" She had been their instructor during the audition, and the girls had quickly come to learn that while she was very caring and accepting of an issue, she often would get very worked up if she did get angry. No one wanted to fall behind and suffer another bout of intense cardio work.

As always, the first dance they were being taught was an understudy favorite, _Sonichi_. They first went through the dance steps, then went into going through the entire song, though it wasn't very continuous as Sakana always would stop the music to point out some flaw. Voice lessons followed in the practice hall across the hallway as the other understudies did their work.

By the time mid-afternoon came around and they had a small break, the majority of the girls ended up in the sitting room, though they sometimes took up a spot out on the lawn when it was especially nice or it was already being used by the successors or 67th.

Returning back to the hall, they found both Atama and Shaune, the enigmatic producer with a quiet disposition, standing and talking with Sakana. As they came in and began to do warm-up stretching, their attention was refocused when Atama clapped her hands.

"All right! We have a very special event for you to attend!"

"Oh, is it a performance? Where will the successors be?

"This will not be a successor show. Due to an overlapping regular concert, we have decided that the 68th Generation will take their place in the peace conference being held here on Akibastar."

"Wouldn't the successors typically get that job?" Chie came forward, curious as to why they were being given such a large and prestigious task. The others murmured their agreement.

"Seeing the talent present in this years selection, and the amount of improvement we have seen from you, we thought it appropriate that some new faces could lead the show."

More murmurs spread through the room, until finally Kanko came forward.

"But we've barely covered a couple of songs? What are we doing?"

"The concert will be held a week from now at the Election Stage. Due to the popularity of AKB's appearance at this event, a bigger venue was deemed necessary."

_The _Election Stage_?! We have only ever performed on the Flying Get... the audience was that big..._

"The songs you will present will Shoujotachi Yo, Aitakatta, and Everyday Katyusha."

At least the songs they had been given were easy dance wise, was the general thought going around the room. Both Chie and Kanko gave a relieved sigh.

"All right. Practice begins tonight!"

"Best of luck!" Atama and Shaune walked out of the room, and not a second after Sakana launched into teaching the steps and positioning. Several times a girl would fall or miss an entire set of steps completely, but before Sakana could even begin to protest, they stood up and slowly figured out the pattern of movements.

When Sakana finally called an end to practice, the girls rushed to change into their regular clothes and pack their things away. Even though it wasn't required, they wanted to see the performance of the night. Sakana protested when she saw them heading out the door to the train, but they insisted instead and continued on.

"At least make sure you rest immediately when you get back." She shook her head and disappeared into the sitting room.

"Yes! Let'g go! We're going to miss the train if we don't hurry!" Running to the station, they ran up the stairs and rushed on as the doors closed moments behind them.

On the way there, Chie's kirara appeared, flying around for a few minutes before wandering off towards the other end of the car. Their stop was nearing, and seeing that it didn't show any intent to return, she followed it to where it hovered near a window seat.

A hand reached out and poked the small creature, the person's hand that it belonged to was leaning against the window, not even really noticing as Chie came up.

"A single star cannot shine alone, but the blossoming stars will crowd the night sky. Only a few can shine in the sky, the others must fade." The girl stood, flashing Chie a look, though she didn't have a chance to see her full face. She walked off the door onto the platform, and after a few moments, Chie followed along, her friends calling to her, not wanting her to miss the stop.

* * *

The week flew by, filled with lessons and training on the stage at the regular theater. They were given their uniforms once again, though this time they were the typical yellow of the understudies.

"Aww... I like the color I had.." Leisa consoled Minami, who deflated onto the ground, obviously not happy.

Pulling her uniform on, Chie was thankful that she had yellow for the previous color. The uniform seemed more familiar, and she did quite like the way it was designed.

Keke walked over, holding up a brush to Chie, gesturing her to help reach the back curls of her hair. When she finished, Keke reached for the brush and murmured a quiet thanks.

One of the staff members of the stage came up, telling them they had 10 minutes till their performance, he led them to the side wings, where they could already here the loud cheers of the audience.

Nervously fidgeting, Keke tried to shake away her fear. Would she trip? Would she forget the lines? The dance? Would she be one of the people being passed as others rose?

Catching her eye, Chie walked over. Even though they didn't seem to be on the same wavelength at times, both respected each other and was willing to help the other out in a pinch.

"Worried?"

"I.. guess so."

Before Chie had a chance to reply with an encouragement, the Overture began playing, the lights darkening around the stage. The audience began to cheer louder, chanting along at times.

The staff member motioned for them to go on, but Chie saw Keke hesitate, almost turning around like she was going to leave.

"Hey! Don't go! I feel nervous too, let's both help each other out." And with that, she pulled her onstage, giving her a reassuring look as they got into starting position.

The music began to swell, and as it finished, the lights came up and the song started playing.

"Where are the successors?"

"Are these the new understudies? Why are they performing?"

Hearing the words from the audience, Keke faltered, losing hope again. As she moved to sing alongside Chie, she saw her give an encouraging smile.

Even though she was nervous too, she was performing her best. Shoving the thoughts aside, she slowly began to lose herself into the music and the energy of the crowd.

Coming to the final song, Keke flashed back to the first time she had seen AKB0048. They had sung this same song, still putting their best effort in even though they could face death.

_Kojima Haruna the 6th... Even though she's not here anymore, I have to repay her for what she gave to me! _

Finally pushing the thoughts aside, she finished the last line and last steps. Lining up for their bow, the crowd roared, obviously enthralled by their performance.

"Thank you very much!"

Running off the stage, the girls returned to the changing rooms. Leaning against poles and slumping into the tables, quite a few of them tried to relax of the exhaustion.

"Oh? Where that kirara from?" Chie, pointed up towards the ceiling, where the others saw that hers was flying around with another light pink, wing shaped kirara. Floating down, it spun around Keke, eventually settling on top of her head.

"Mine?" She tried to tilt her head up to see the small being, but began leaning too far back in her seat. She crashed to the ground, thankfully not hurting herself, but knocked the kirara, which flew and bounced off the mirror before regaining its balance. Helping to pull her up, Chie gave a chuckle, and soon the entire room began to fill with laughter.

* * *

Geez... And the longest chapter so far is done! I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm sorry if the sped up pace this chapter was too fast. I wanted to get through things quickly and make sure to wrap up some things, like Keke and Kojima the 6th, but also to introduce some future plot points as well. Hmm... I wonder what it would be... :)

Since their were four successors along at the audition, that would mean that four of the 67th would be stand-ins, and as Mayuyu mentions, the other half came with as well, making the 67th Generation have a total of 8 girls. I'll try to get names and such down not far in the future!

As as side note, I've decided that the producers/instructors will be written in by their last name, since adding on honorifics seems odd and redundant at times.

Thanks for the reads!


	7. Hectic Days

Thank you to Mirajane S and Erza S for your reviews! I'm glad that there are followers for this story, you can give great feedback!

Onto the story!

* * *

1 month time skip

* * *

Since their first true performance as understudies at the Election Stage, it was no coincidence nor surprise that their popularity grew. In fact, a few fan sites had popped up, putting their popularity on par with the 67th generation, who had been there for much longer.

There time was sprinkled between a song or two as an opening act for the successors, participating in handshake events, and even a few photo shoots.

After the exhausting weeks of nonstop full schedules and lessons, the once a month day off came along. Leisa and Minami wandered off after the breakfast hour, and were soon followed by Aiku, who was toting a camera, stating that an idol always had to be ready for a picture.

Saying a fleeting goodbye, Chie hopped up the stairs two at time, all the while trying to balance a stack of books in her arms. She came upon a few of the 67th and successors, making their way out as well. Exchanging a few greetings, Chie finally arrived at the door to her room. Swinging it open, she walked over to Keke, who hunched over at one of the desk.

"Did you get _all_ of them?" referring to the stack in Chie's arms.

"Of course! Though one wasn't in the library..." Keke gave a deflated sigh. "Don't worry, I asked Atama and she gave me a digital copy for you instead! Everything should be here!"

Stacking the books up on the table, Keke instantly grabbed for the first one and began to read. One of her hobbies turned out to be reading obviously, but also at the same time she was obsessed with discussing online with others about them. With her new status as an AKB understudy, she had been granted memberships to some of the boards she only could have dreamed of participating in before.

Sliding up her reading glasses, she murmured a thanks and slumped into a comfortable position on the chair. Hearing a knock on the door, Chie walked over, expecting one of their roommates to have forgotten something.

Instead, she found a wheezing Takamina leaning against the opposite wall.

"Please! Oh god! You were the first one I thought of!" She rushed over and put her arms over Chie's shoulders in exhaustion.

"W..What is it?!"

"Since it's my day off, my parent want me to watch my siblings while they go off somewhere!"

"Your siblings? You live here on Akibastar?"

"Yeah! Though on the edge of town. Come on!"

Grabbing her hand, she pulled Chie out the door and down the stairs, though Chie tried to protest. She managed to motion a wave to Keke and grab her bag in the process. Takamina seemed intent on getting to the station as soon as possible, even volunteering to cover the price of the tickets, since the station they were heading to was out of the range their 0048 passes covered. She only seemed to rest when the door slid closed and with a chime the train set off.

"Geez, I can't thank you enough. I hate this part of being the oldest sibling!" She let out an exasperated huff, drawing the attention of a few nearby.

"It can't be that bad! How many siblings do you have anyways?" Chie had done her fair share of babysitting, as she first lived in a rather family-dense neighborhood.

"Let's see..." She proceeded to count on her fingers, mumbling a few names as she thought it out. "I have three brothers, and four sisters. Two of the girls and one of the boys are triplets... they're the youngest."

"S..Seven? Why don't you parents ask for more help?!"

"Aaa... it runs in the family to not want to put pressure on others and leave the work for themselves. I guess it makes sense, considering I inherited the name of Takamina. Oh, and irony also seems to cloud around our family. My parents remarked once on how they wanted to fill up all the boxes on this one frame of theirs... and so came the triplets."

"I can see that." Leaning against a pole, Chie looked out at the passing scenery. The had passed what was usually their last stop and were now out in a slightly less developed part of Akibastar. The streets and paths gave way to rolling hills and small bunches of homes and commercial areas. It all seemed so similar to her home on Inaistar from the small part of time when she had lived on the presidential estate on the edges of town.

"Speaking of inheritance, any ideas on who you want to succeed yet? Some people come in dead set on succeeding a particular person." Takamina leaned over the back of the seat, sending a curious look to Chie.

"No, actually." She seemed to still be focused on the scenery rolling by.

"Hmm... Maybe Paruru... or what about Annin..."

"Ah... I don't really know. Anyone would be nice. I don't want to get attached to something like that so early. I just started training and stuff, you know."

"Unfair. I want you to move over to the successor dorms as soon as possible. That way, it would be easier to hang out with you. I only see you around practice and concert times..."

"Oh god, you are so childish sometimes, Takamina. Isn't Takahashi supposed to be grown-up, being the captain?" Chie waved her hand at Takamina, who gave a pout from her spot.

Tackling her and pulling her haphazardly towards herself. She seemed to fully have lost her captain character, making Chie wonder what her siblings would be like. "See, but when you become a successor, I can finally have someone to talk to in the locker rooms!"

"_TAKAMINA!_" Chie angrily yelled and pulled herself away, giving said girl a deadly look.

"Aaahh... fine." Takamina deflated into her seat, though quickly sat straight again as the chime rung for an incoming station.

"Here we are!"

"Oo, what a small town. It's adorable." The town was only the size of the neighborhood they lived in, but she could see several more buildings off in the distance not too far away. Most of the buildings were neutral in color, and were dutch-like in style.

They made their way off the station and down a set of stairs to a paved path through what looked like a small park. Coming through the trees, Takamina lead the way to her home, occasionally pointing out a particular store or restaurant, this one had cute hats, that one had to-die-for pastries.

Finally, they came up to a deep brown home surrounded by grass and edged on one side by a plaza and park. Several kids were running about in the yard, and an adult, with his back turned, was leaning over a hedge reaching for a lost ball.

"Takamai!" A short orange-haired girl spotted the duo, catching the attention of the others, who began rushing to Takamina like a flock of hungry sheep.

"Taka...mai?" Chie wondered about the odd nickname.

"Taking a few steps, Takamina looked over her shoulder, gave a smile and grabbed Chie's hand, pulling her along. They were met with a few tackling hugs and greetings, before the man who was by the bushes came up and quieted them down.

"Hey, hey now. Let's not waste all of our energy right away." Giving a smile to Takamina, he gave her a hug and then turned to the other girl.

"You would be?"

"Ahh...Chie Koi, 68th generation understudy." She shook hands with him as he gave a smile.

"So the big girl has finally made some friends, huh?" He gave a mischievous smile to his daughter.

"I'm friends with a lot of people, dad. She just volunteered to come with me and help."

"I did not! You practically dragged me down the stairs and to the station!"

"Is that so? Well, why don't you guys come in. I'm sure the kids need a break, and we can show you around the house if you would like."

Chie gave a nod and followed the group inside. The younger kids kicked off their shoes and proceeded to slide down the hall in their socks, running around the corner into another room. Laughing, they passed by a large wall of pictures, with complimenting frames that definitely didn't match. One caught her eye in particular. A small girl with a yellow ponytail was standing on a stool, flanked by what looked to be her parents. Seeing the graduation cap, she assumed it was a school ceremony. Looking at the print at the bottom, she caught sight of a name.

_Maiko Noriko._

* * *

Finally crashing down on the couch in the main room, the two girls breathed a deep sigh of relief. They had successfully gotten all seven of her siblings down for a nap, thankfully without a lot of fuss.

"Geez. That must be a record! I'm glad I brought you along!" She stretched out and took a drink from a cup of water on the side table.

"I'm glad I came too, it's been fun. I've never had to actually deal with this many active kids before."

"Trust me, it doesn't get easier at all."

Looking around the room, Chie noticed two portraits hanging in the corner by the fireplace in the home.

One was of a girl with long hair pulled up into a bun and then tied into three loops hanging down on the back of her head. A white clip held her bangs back, pulling the other side across her forehead. It was all surrounding a smile and bright shining eyes.

The other was Takamina of course, though this time she wore the typical red successor uniform.

"Ah, my understudy and successor portraits. My parents insisted they had to get framed and hung."

"Wow, what a change. I know some people cut their hair or change how they style it, but you totally changed."

"I guess it comes with changing into a successor. You are different, so to speak."

Sitting for a moment in silence, Takamina stood up and motioned to an adjoining room.

"Hey, want to check out what we have for movies? My parents are quite the movie junkies, if I must say so."

"Sure! Lead the way."

* * *

After only an hour and a half, the kids started to stir and come down the stairs. Giving out a few snacks, they began to ask what they were going to do next.

"Can we play that wrestling game, sis?"

"No! Only you boys like something like that!" The second eldest girl spoke up.

"Why don't we head over to the park? Didn't you guys say there was some new equipment installed recently?" Looking out the window, Chie could make out the forms of the structures she mentioned.

"Ah! We haven't been there since they did! Let's do that!" The others gave their agreement, though a few shoves were exchanged between two of the siblings.

"Get you stuff on then. We can head over when you guys are ready."

With a rush of bodies and clothing, all seven kids hurried to pull their shoes on and run back to the room, where the back door would lead them to the park. Lewis, one of the triplets, grabbed both Takamina's and Chie's hands, giving them little choice if they wanted to go or not, and pulled them our of the house and into the mob of children.

"Wait!" One of the youngest trailed behind, trying to catch up as the ran through the trees.

As they came through, they found several other kids and families already there with several of the structures covered in moving bodies.

"Hey! It's the Noriko's!" Several of said moving bodies ran over, quickly turning around an pulling the group into the sand.

"That was fast. There's a bench over there, come on!"

As they sat down in the shade of a tree, Chie took the chance to look at the plaza. It seemed similarly styled to where they lived, considering they were still on Akibastar of course, but was much more lush and covered with green. Several overflowing flower beds were scattered around the walkways, and a fountain stood off in the distance.

"I remember when I was just a kid, we used to come here all the time. Especially when there were concerts. Even though we're still on Akibastar 0048 would come out and do a small concert once or twice a year. Wonder where I got the dream to join them from, huh?"

"When did you actually join? You've been a successor for..." she started to count on her fingers, trying to recall how long ago she had seen Takamina the 6th.

"Ah. I auditioned when I was 14, and succeeded when I was 15. So I've been Takamina for four years now. My birthday is coming up soon, actually!"

"We'll have to plan something..." Chie trailed of as she tried to think of all the ways the group could surprise Takamina and successfully avoid her tendency to show up a just the wrong time for that sort of thing.

Jolting her out of her thoughts, one of the siblings came over and started to tug on Takamina's sleeve.

"Hey Takamai, come join us. We need more people for tag."

"Sure." She stood up and took her brother's hand, and beckoned back to Chie. "Why don't you join us too?"

"Why not?"

Running onto the sand, they tried to look around for the kid who would be it, but didn't seem to be having much luck.

"Hey! Who's it?!" Straining her eyes from the sun, Takamina scanned the area.

"You are now!" Said sibling who had pulled them over, turned around, bumped Takamina in the arm, and proceeded to run away laughing. When the other kids saw this, they too began to run around, their ploy successful.

"Get back here!"

This went on for quite a while, and by the time Takamina fell over into the sand from exhaustion the glow of sunset was starting to hit the trees and surrounding buildings.

"Ah, this is worse then combat and dance training combined." Chie sat down next to her, drinking from one of the water bottle she had brought along in her bag. "Want some?" Takamina eagerly grabbed the offered bottle and drank it down thirstily.

"Hey sis! Could you do a dance for us? You haven't done it in forever!" Several others around readily agreed, and a few also flocked over hearing the request.

"Well, I'm out of other ideas to entertain you guys, so I guess I have no choice do I?"

"It's not like you carry around a micsaber, Takamina."

"Well..." Takamina gave a sheepish look and a small laugh, producing two mics from her own backpack.

"Wow. Two? You want me to join you?"

"Duh. Come on, let's do it!"

Pulling Chie over to an open stretch of pavement, Takamina, spun around and gave a thoughtful look. The group of kids came over, trailed by some adults as well. The lights in the plaza slowly began to flicker on as well.

"I know!"

_Itsumo no michi wo _

_Hashiru jitensha_

_Tachi kogi no_

_Ase ga yureru_

_Kugatsu no soyokaze_

Both of the girls kirara slowly materialized, floating around the group of kids, who laughed and tried to poke at them. Chie joined in with Takamina, slowly remembering the steps and lyrics. They had only just been taught it a day or two beforehand, coincidentally.

_Maybe_

_Maybe_

_Suki na no kamo shirenai_

_Aoi sora ni wa_

_Kumo wa hitotsu mo nai_

_Maybe_

_Maybe_

_Suki na no kamo shirenai_

_Sore ga koi da to_

_Wakatteru kedo_

_Iiwake maybe_

Seeing the looks of awe and enjoyment, Chie thought back to when she had first seen AKB0048. All those years ago, Leisa, Minami and she had experienced something similar to this, the amphitheater they visited, the bustle of people around on the surrounding plazas and streets.

_Maybe_

_Maybe_

_Sonna yuuki wa nai_

_Probably ni chikai_

_Motto tashika na mono_

_Maybe_

_Maybe_

_Sonna yuuki wa nai_

_Zutto kono mama_

_Kataomoi de ii_

_Iiwake maybe_

As they finished, the kids and adults began to clap, the kids giving cheers and thanks. The crowd slowly cleared out, many people making their way back home. The two managed to persuade Takamina's siblings to follow them home, and they were greeted by their own parents, having recently returned home from their day out. Chie gave her goodbyes and stepped out the front door, waiting the few minutes for Takamina to appear staring up at the sky. Even though the sky was fake, being underground, Chie couldn't help but be in awe of how bright the stars were. Being away from the city made more stand out, and Chie could sometimes make out faint bands of the galaxy occasionally from the corner of her eye.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. My sister is particularly clingy around nighttime, especially when I'm home."

"No worries, it's nice to watch the sky once in a while since we're out of the city."

"Mmm. I often forget how pretty they are out here." She tilted her head up for a few moments. She looked back down, continuing to talk with Chie as they made their way back to the station and eventually the city.

Takamina had dozed off during the ride back, forcing Chie to prod her awake when they were just arriving at their station.

"Here we are."

"Home we go." They began to make their way towards the dormitory. Stopping for just a moment, Chie had a sudden thought.

"You go on ahead. I think I left my card on the ticket machine."

"Alright. See you then." She gave a yawn and a wave, and then continued on her way.

Successfully finding the pouch with her pass in it, Chie tried to find her way back. Even though they visited this stop quite often, Chie often got lost in the hallways and wait areas.

She found herself in a small plaza, a big set of doors in front of her. Seeing the 0048 circles embedded on it, she presumed it would lead her to the dorms.

Wandering through the halls, a great long hall stretched before her. Red pillars flanked either side and the place was dimly it by blue glowing lights.

"Anybody here?" She continued through the hall, finding a bridge winding through dense bamboo near the end. Finally seeing a glow up ahead, she started to walk faster, eagerly expecting it to be the dormitory building.

Stepping out off the bridge, Chie took a few tenative steps, her kirara floating around cautiously as well.

"Where the heck am I?"

* * *

So... Takamina's original name hath been revealed! If I reveal the other members names is yet to be determined...

Succeeding has begun. Lol, not quite. :P I have started to determine who will succeed who as the girls slowly get character development. Yes, Chie and Keke were the stars of the show last time, though there will be no more development beside them having mutual respect for each other due to future plot points. I have several events to be covered, so now it's just tying them together in a proper order and getting through more time story-wise.

I can't believe these chapters have been getting so long... I'm getting the hang of developing the plot the chapter surrounds.

Thanks for reads and reviews!


	8. Ends Reflected

Location: Inaistar

* * *

"Sir, they are here to see you." The deep blue-headed man sat straight in his chair, flicking off the screen he had been staring at. The image faded from view as the steward ushered two people into the room.

One was a green-haired teenage boy, wearing an official school uniform and a bag thrown over his shoulder. The second hid her face underneath her hat, though her tumbling black locks curled around her cheeks and fell to her chest.

Swiveling ninety degrees to face the two, he gave a warm smile and stood up from his desk, beckoning them to come in further.

"Well now, no need to be so formal. It is a pleasure to be with you." He nodded to the butler standing off to the side of the room, and he promptly disappeared through the small door he had been next to. Lowis Koi, president of Inaistar for only a month now, settled down on the couch in front of his desk. He brushed a deep blue curl of hair behind his ear. Despite being young for such a position, he clearly showed the signs of constant stress that came with his job.

"Ah.. Okay. I guess we should introduce ourselves, right?" The boy turned to his companion. She gave a non-committal shrug. "Well then, I would be Soute Yoko, and this here is B...

"Byotaro Yuan." She spoke strongly, peering up at the president from underneath the brim of her hat.

* * *

"Where the heck am I?"

All around her, the walls curved high into the ceiling and the room stretched for what seemed to be infinity. The ground was rough, and it took a few second for her brain to register the place as a cave.

The part that had held her from coming to this conclusion were the thousands of twinkling crystals scattered all around. Some lightly pulsed, others were so bright they hurt to look at. They varied in all sorts of colors, shifting from hue to hue as she walked deeper into the area.

Of all the things that surprised her, the most stunning were the thousands of gently floating Kirara filling the air. She could here their soft noises, and she swore she heard a slight sparkling sound faintly in the background. Her own Kirara broke off from her, and flew off into the mass, and she immediately lost sight of it amongst the masses.

"Hey, wait!" She followed it to the best of her ability, until it brought her towards a large pool of water. More crystals laid beneath the surface, visible through the clear water. Figuring there was no other way to go, considering she was already lost in the cave and there had to be an exit somewhere.

Giving a sigh, she bent down and undid the ties on her sandals. Gripping them in one hand, she dipped a foot into the water, surprised to find that it was a bearable temperature. When she sat her first foot on the bottom, the rocks didn't bite into her heels, instead they felt almost soft and smoothly bumpy.

Thankfully, the lake remained only a foot deep all the way across as she made her way to the other shore. Standing out in the midst of the surrounding dark-walled cave, a decorative pavilion emerged. Stepping foot on the white surface, she lost herself to the sight of the highly-detailed ceiling and the bright colors. It seemed awfully odd being in a uninhabited cave, at least as far as humans were concerned.

Stopping in the middle, she found her Kirara floating in a bunch of others, which promptly came over and floated around her, a few bumping into almost as if on purpose like they were inspecting this new found thing in the home.

A few floated a few feet off, beginning to shine brightly enough that she had to shield her eyes. When the light seemed to die down, she stepped over, looking into what appeared to be a round mirror, seeing her own face staring back at her. Within a few moments, the image shifted and warped to a familiar yellow-headed girl.

"Takamina!" A few of the other Kirara glided over and seemed to affirm her statement. And again, the image shifted. This time Takamina seemed to be standing on one of the flying plates. by the glow and flashes going by, she could tell it was a guerrilla concert. She shine brightly, several Kirara surrounding her and many more barely existing glowed as well. Surrounded by this glowing aura, she flew in front of a large bunch of LAS's, the light getting more intense. Turning around, she gave a smile, though there seemed to be some sort of emotion or meaning hidden beneath it.

As if she was staring right at her, her mouth moved as the light continued to grow brighter and brighter. A single sound seemed to make it over and hit her ears just as the light was getting too much for her to bear.

"Chie."

Within seconds, the mirror was gone, and the Kirara had scattered. Looking around her trying to follow where they were going, she felt her eyes being drawn to the side. There was a small door, almost hidden in the rocks, though it seemed to be pretty well used for such a unfound location.

Rushing over to it, she pushed on the bar. Stumbling out she took a deep breath and leaned against the wall. Chie found herself in the hallway beneath the dormitory, which was often only used by a few management people who had a dislike to the train method of getting to the theater.

Pushing off, she began to make her way down the hall and up the stairs, millions of thoughts going through her mind. Why had Takamina shined so brightly? Where was the image coming from? Did it actually happen?

As she finally made her way up to the door to her room, she carefully cracked it open and was relieved to find that all the others were asleep. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was only a half hour after lights usually went off in their room. Changing into her pajama set, she fell onto her bottom bunk and as soon as she had her head to the pillow and her eyes closed, her breathing deepened and she fell into what would be a deep night's sleep in comparison to how she usually slept.

* * *

"So, getting onto the reason why I called you up." Spinning his thumbs around, his nervous demeanor didn't go unnoticed by the two. "As you are aware, this planet, Inaistar, is the newest member of the DGTO. The first one in the realm of the entertainment protection sphere to be granted permission to do so, actually.

"But, as you must also be aware of, the disappearance of my daughter has complicated matters. It does not look good for a president's own daughter to vanish just as he is taking office and the planet undergoing reform."

"Vanished?" Byotaro looked skeptical.

"That is the way it was officially told to the press, yes."

"So then something different actually happened?"

"Of course. During the announcement of the DGTO joining, she ran off in the terminal and got onto one of the ships, though the guards did their best to stop that."

Byotaro looked to her partner. There was still something missing to this story. If she recalled correctly, the now-president had a stable family life with his daughter in the past. So what now had caused her to runaway?

Soute gave a small gesture of understanding, before shifting back to address the president.

"And where exactly was this ship going to?"

"Ah, that is the most ironic part. Akibastar. I'm not surprised about the destination. Before the ban she was very into this whole entertainment business, especially with her mother being a professional photographer for entertainment at one point."

"So if she was going to Akibastar, which is a entertainment hotbed, then she must have been wanting to join them." Soute finished logically.

"Yes, them."

"So what is it you want us to do? Set up a mail line with her? Deliver something? You know we are running a courier business here." Soute leaned back into the couch. The president's reasoning was sound, but he wasn't sure what this all had to do with the two of them.

"Something on the edges of your job description. I would like you to try and get my daughter to come back to Inaistar."

"_Come back?!_ Why on earth would she do that? Especially with the ban and all!"

"Let's just say, the ban may not be holding for long. The people are not very happy about it, and the protection sphere government is considering pulling back our exception."

"So by bringing her back, what would that do?"

"A fabulous story has been concocted. After being disillusioned by entertainment, two brave workers pull her out of it and return her to normality. The planet would be secure under the ban once again."

"That sounds horrible. Who would believe that?"

"I wouldn't, but being the president I must do things for the planet."

"I don't think we would be able to agree to this, sir." Soute folded his arms across his chest, making Byotaro sit straight with tension. Things weren't going exactly peachy.

"I do not support this plan. However, there are people otherwise who have advised me that this is the best option for our planet to be able to prosper in the future. A past that goes off without a hitch builds a better and more stable future then one with troubles."

"I guess I can see the reasoning, if only a little bit." Byotaro let out a sigh of relief, the tension gone from her lungs.

"Well then, I wish you luck in your endeavors."

With that, the group exchanged good byes, and the two walked out of the room. As the wooden doors slid shut behind them, the president made his was to his desk and chair. Sitting down and leaning back, he let out a sigh.

"If only the path to the future wasn't this hard to navigate..."

* * *

Shuffling into the dining room, Chie let out a yawn. As she said her good mornings to the chef and Successors, she made her way to the round booth table on the side. Sliding into her spot, she took a moment to heave a sigh.

"Somebody seems thoughtful this morning." Yuihan smiled from across the table. Aiku, sitting next to her, agreed with a mumble as she scooped a spoonful of cereal into her mouth and rubbed her eyes.

"Thinking about not losing your pass again, huh, Chie?" Takamina walked up and sat down at the table, a few other members filtering in behind her.

"It was an accident. I'm not one to lose things." She said defensively.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Who was the one always losing papers at school?" Leisa sent a smirk over from the next table. Chie sent a glare back, and laughed.

"Fine, maybe it is like me to do that." Takamina and the others at the table laughed with them. As they continued to speak, Atama walked in, wearing her typical sharp work clothes and carrying the pad underneath her arm.

"Alright. Looks like everyone is up, so I'm going to take care of some announcements while I have everyone here in one place.

"For the concert tonight, remember that you should allow extra time to get there since we need to make sure the new uniforms are all fitted correctly.

"And as a last note, our next guerrilla concert will be announced as well. Details will be given out later."

Pulling out her own hand-held computer, Chie opened the gallery of designs for the new uniforms mentioned. The sketches didn't seem that interesting, more than likely because the current designer was known for his horrible drawing ability. Still, anything he designed turned out amazing and was well received by the fans.

Simple white outfits, ranging from a one-piece frilly dress to a pair of shorts and tank top, were overlaid by black swirls and blue shawls. The typical uniform boots were present, though they were white with blue accents. Sorting through her mind, Chie tried to find songs that would match the uniform's styling.

None coming to mind, she turned her attention back to the present and found several people making their way out, stretching and yawning as they made their way back to their rooms or the locker area to change into practice clothing.

Giving another deep sigh, Chie rose from her seat and walked to return her dishes to the cook. Something told her that there was going to be something else announced as well at that nights performance, but she didn't have time to dwell on it before Aiku and Keke called out to her from the doorway.

"Coming! Wait up!"

* * *

Ergh... not exactly sure how I like the way this turned out. Sorry for not updating in a while! This chapter had some plot bunnies and was hard to bridge with the next upcoming arc. Eh...

Thanks for all the reads and the reviews!


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